Siege of Tollan

The Siege of Tollan occurred in 1526 during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Hernan Cortes' army of Spanish and native troops conquered the Aztec city of Tollan to the north of Mexico City, delivering another blow to the fragmented Aztec state.

The Fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521 did not completely destroy the vast Aztec Empire, whose constituent city-states continued to fly the Aztec banner in opposition to the Spanish invasion. The Spanish conquistador Cortes set out to destroy the remnants of the Aztec Empire, dispatching a detachment of his army to seize Huaxtepec as he recruited a new army of native mercenaries with an elite core of veteran Spanish soldiers. Cortes and his army of 1,867 troops besieged the Aztec city of Tollan, which was defended by Quilaztli of Tehuacan and 1,428 men. The Spanish battered down the gates and charged into the city, pushing the Aztecs back to the city square, where they made a desperate last stand. The Spanish and theri native allies succeeded in storming the city and defeating the brave Aztecs, and they massacred 2,801 citizens of the city to ensure that the survivors would fall into line.